Dry-placer separator and concentrator.



N. C. WESTERFIBLD.

DRY PLACER SEPARATOR AND GONGENTRATOR. APPLIOATION FILED maize, 1905.

1,029,651; Patented June'18, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N. 0. WESTERPIELD. DRY PLACER SEPARATOR AND GONGENTRATOR.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 26, 1905.

Patented June 18, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NEWTON G. WESTERFIELD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 INTERNATIONAL MANUFACTURING & MINING (30., A CORPORATION OF ARIZONA.

DRY-PLACER SEPARA'IOR AND GONCENTRATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 18, 1912.

Application filed December 26, 1905. Serial No. 293,316.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NEWTON C. \Vnsrnn FIELD, a citizen of the Unlted States, residing at No. 97 5 Warren avenue, in the city ficient quantity of water can be obtained to use in the operation, the free gold can be removed from the sand, gravel and other alluvial deposits )Vltll a great degree of ef; ficiency and economy, but where there 1s little or no water the removal of gold from the associated base material has been performed with difficulty and at best only a small percentage has been removed.

It is the object of my invention to provide a commercial machine by which the free gold as well as gold bearing minerals in the formof black or magnetic sand and the like can be recovered from what are known as 'dry placers. It is also applicable to the removal of the coarser rock or gangue resulting from the crushing of quartz, thereby making in effecta concentrate of the remaining material.

The principles of my invention are illus trated in the drawings forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section Fig. 2 is a cross section thereof on the line w ac looking in the direction of the arroWFig. 3 is a side view of a receiving trough or trapFig. 4 is a detail of the adjustments of said tra and Fig. 5 represents a special form 0' separating sieve on the section of Fig. 1.

Further describing my invention with reference to the drawings, in which like characters of reference denote like parts throughout, 1 represents the posts; 2 the longitudinal beams, and 3 the transverse beams, together comprising the supporting frame work of my device. The side spaces are inclosed by Walls 4:. Within the parts just named is a space 5 inclosed by the sides 6 and bottom 7. Over the top of the receiving chamber is secured a shaker frame 8, which is suspended by means of the rods 9. The latter, at their lower extremities, are pivotally attached to the bracket 10, and at their upper extremities are adjustably swung to the slotted bracket 12, in which adjustment as to position and height may be made by the thumb screw 13. In order that the air currents, provided as hereinafter described, may be properly directed and prevented from going outside the shaker frame, strips of canvas 15 are secured to the partition 4 and the shaker frame 8. A similar strip of canvas 16 is similarly applied by which the lower side of the shaker frame is attached to the par tition 4:. The shaker frame comprises the transverse strips 18, which should be set to provide a substantially uniform spacing between them. Suitably framed sieves, of which 19 are the members, placed transversely of the machine, and of which 20 is the screen or cloth placed thereon, are adapted to be placed in position within the shaker frame and to so rest upon the cross piece 18 that the adjacent edges of the screens will break joints longitudinally of the cross pieces. The cross pieces 21, however, are somewhat wider than those designated by 18 and are so spaced that a small opening or slot 22 is between their adjacent edges. Upon the said cross pieces 21 may be mounted the block 23, which has a rounded groove throughout its length and a slot adapted to register with the opening 22. Within the groove is seated a trap 25. The exactform or dimensions of this are not material, but I prefer to make it of a piece ofmetal pipe of suitable diameter, from which portions may be cut so as to leave the circular end portions 26 and the intermediate strengthening portions 27. The trap so constructed may have the end portions closed by any convenient means and should be so journaled in the groove of the cross piece 23 that the upper edges 28 should be normally flush with the upper face ofv said cross piece. Suitable retaining bands or blocks 30 should inclose the upper portions of said trough at the ends to secure it against displacement. One of such blocks may be provided with a groove or elongated notch 31 by which the pin 32 may be engaged so as to limit the rotation of the trap when moved by means of the handle 29. A thumb screw 33, or other suitable locking device, may also be mounted in the block and, by bearing upon the trough 26 thereunder, provide a means for securing the same in any desired posi tion. A head block is placed transversely of the shaker frame and a pitman rod 41 connects the same to the eccentric strap 42, which is mounted on the eccentric 43. The latter may be driven by a pulley l4, attached to any convenient source of power. As a protection against undue and violent strains and to make the vibratory action of the apparatus less severe, I prefer to provide a spring 45 through. which the power communicated by the eccentric is conveyed to the head block. The space 5 of my apparatus should be divided transversely by the slanting partitions so arranged that the upper portion of each stands substantially under one of the transverse bars of the shaker frame. The space between any two of the adjacent partitions will then correspond to the screen immediately above and the material falling through any sieve will drop into the screen chamber thus formed. To avoid scattering of the material, strips of clot-h or canvas 52 should connect the upper end of each partition with the transverse bar immediately thereabove.

Beneath the floor of the space 5 is formed an air or pressure chamber 55. This may be connected with the blower pipe 56, into which air may be introduced under pressure by means of the blower 57, which may be driven by any convenient means. A series of openings in the floor 7 connect a. part of the sieve chambers with the air chamber 55 and provide means by which the air therein, under pressure, may beforced upward into the corresponding chambers. The current so introduced may be governed and controlled by the valves 62, which are hinged at 63. By being swung on the pivot, the throat 64: may be broadened or contracted as desired, and the pressure of air within the connected sieve chambers held atany desired point. The position of the valve may be changed to regulate the air currents by the levers 65 mounted on the pivotal portion 63 of the valves, which is extended outside the wall 6, and the same may be secured in place by the pins 66 which take the openings 67 in the side wall.

As represented in the drawings, the shaker frame is set substantially level, but the same may be tilted by adjusting the rods 9. The material to be operated upon, the larger and coarser gravel having been preferably first removed, is placed upon the shaker frame at the upper portion thereof. It will be seen that the sieve chamber a is not connected with the pressure chamber and therefore that no air current is brought to bear against the underside of the sieve over said chamber. This sieve should be of very fine mesh and the operation thereof is to separate the very fine or flour gold and with it the fine dust which may be contained in the material passing over the sieve. The remaining material then passes over the sieve chambers 22, c and (Z which are severally provided with sieves, each in the order named having slightly larger mesh than the preceding. As the material passes over the said sieves, it is met by an upward current of air, which should be strong enough to exercise a lifting action upon the material on top of the sieves, thus reliev ing the friction thereon and aiding in the tendency of the heavier gold to settle to the bottom of the mass where, by reason of its greater specific gravity, it will fall through the meshes. The lighter particles of sand or gravel will be forced backward from the surfaces of the sieves, and the gravel, to gether with the particles of gold, too large to pass through the sieves, will be caused to travel by the longitudinal action of the shaker frame, toward the discharge end of the apparatus. The sieve over the chamber 6 should have a mesh slightly, finer than that of the last preceding sieve but, as there is no air pressure in said chamber, the sand, from which the particles of gold, corre sponding in size to the particles of sand, have been removed by the preceding sieves, will fall into the said screen chamber 6 which may be provided with a suitable discharge, as the material which enters it is practically waste, thus relieving the machine of a large percentage of the bulk of matter with which it was loaded. By this time there should remain nothing but the coarser gold and the coarser common and magnetic sand and the gravel. As this passes over the trap 25, the sieve will be filled with the smaller particles of base material, together with the nuggets. The reciprocating action of the shaker, causing a continuous stream of material to pass. over the trap causes the nuggets and other particles of gold, too coarse to have passed through the screens, to embed themselvesin the already trapped material which in proportion as gold is contributed to the mass in the trap, is forced out to continue its journey. The contents of the trap may be discharged at any time by giving the same a partial rotation, which is limited by the relation of the pin 32 to the notch or slot 31, and which should be v its normal position. The gravel and sand cles, thus securing the black or magnetic sand, which, if any, frequently contains a considerable portion of the gold values of such material. Another trap 25' may be provided over the chamber i in which particles of gold, which have escaped the previous collecting apparatus, may be deposited. Especially w11l this be the case if the same is in the form of thin pieces or flakes. The remaining sand and gravel will be discharged in the rear of the machine, free from gold or other values.

Upon passing over the sieves, air controlled and otherwise, and the trap or traps provided, a complete separation of the valuable from the worthless material is effected. Practically all of the valuable contents of the sand andgravel will be classified and deposited in the different chambers from which it may be removed as convenient and subjected to such further appropriate treatment, if any, as will place it in marketable condition. The operation of the machine is continuous. No stoppage thereof is necessary to clean up and remove collected or rejected material.

For special purposes, in connection with my invention, I have devised the form of sieve or separator shown in Fig. 5 in which rods 20 of comparatively large size are substituted for the wire cloth in the frame work of the sieves. These rods being arranged transversely to the line of travel of the material passing over them, tend to retard the passage thereof and, as the spaces between the rods are small in comparison with the area of the rods themselves, the currents of air passing between exercise a much more powerful stirring action on the mass of material, as well as retarding motion to the downward passage of the lighter portions of material. Sieves of this character are especially fitted to be used in connection with the chambers g and h as it is at this point of travel that the black or magnetic sand contained in the gross material, if any, should preferably be separated. This special form of sieve is particularly adapted to the separation of such black sand, although it may be used for other purposes in connection with my apparatus as judgment and practical experience in handling different materials may dictate.

I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, the following:

1. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a shaker frame, a sieve thereon adapted to pass material therethrough, means for vibrating the same, and an inclosed trap revolubly mounted in said shaker frame below the plane of the sieve and having an upper face open to receive material passing over, but not through the screen.

2. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a shaker frame, a sieve thereon adapted to pass material therethrough, means for vibrating the same, and an inclosed trap revolubly mounted in said shaker frame transversely to its line of motion and having an upper face open to receive material passing over, but not through the screen.

3. In a machine of the character described, a shaker frame, means for vibrating the same, said shaker frame being fitted with a sieve and having an inclosed trap revolubly mounted therein transversely to its line of motion, and depressed to or below the general level of the sieve and having an upper face open to receive material passing over, but not through the screen.

4:. In a machine of the character described, a shaker frame provided with a screen, means for vibrating the same, a rotatory trap comprising the continuous arc of a circle mounted in the shaker frame depressed to or below the level of said shaker frame and open to receive material passing over but not through the screen, and means for locking the trap in place.

5. In a machine of the character described, a shaker frame, screens carried thereby, a trap revolubly mounted on the shaker frame transversely to the line of motion and having its upper edges substantially flush with the upper plane of the screens and having an upper face open to receive material passing over, but not through the screen.

6. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a shaker frame having a plurality of cross-pieces provided with longitudinal slots, said cross-pieces forming spaces therebetween in a shaker frame, means for giving longitudinal motion to the shaker frame, a plurality of traps j ournaled on said cross-pieces above the slots and having their upper edges flush with the crosspieces, and means for inverting the traps to discharge through said slots.

7. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a shaker frame, means for giving longitudinal vibratory motion thereto, a cross piece therein having a longitudinal slot, a trap having the form in cross section of the continuous segment of a circle journaled on the cross piece above the slot movable with the shaker frame, means for giving rotatory motion to the trap, and means for limiting the rotation so the opening of the trap will register with the said slot.

8. In a machine of the character described,

the combinatien'of a shaker frame, means for giving longitudinal vibratory motion thereto, a cross piece therein having a longitudinal slot, a trap having the form in cross section of the continuous segment of a circle jo-urnaled on the cross piece above the slot movable with the shaker frame, means for giving rotatory motion to the trap, means for limiting the rotation so the opening of the trap will register with the said slot, and means for locking the trap in its normal position.

9. In a machine of the character described. a shaker frame provided with a plurality of sieves having successive gradations of mesh,

.cros's-pie'ces to separate said sieves from Witnesses C. K. CHAMBERLAIN, A. S. PHI LIPS,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Gommissioner of'Patents,

Washington, D. G.

NEWTON c. WESTERFIELD. 

